


Winter Has Come

by Alazan



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Character Death, Child Death, De-Aged Tony Stark, Emotional Hurt, Feelings, Ficlet, Game of Thrones References, Hypothermia, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Loki's Magic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-21
Updated: 2017-11-21
Packaged: 2019-02-05 01:48:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,037
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12784317
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alazan/pseuds/Alazan
Summary: When Game of Thrones became popular, Rhodey liked saying the Stark phrase whenever he was around Tony. Considering the events that would follow with the Winter Soldier and a Frost Giant, maybe Tony should have heeded the Stark family motto more seriously.--//So I read some stuff where Loki de-ages Tony and he befriends Bucky. I'm joining the bandwagon but because I'm in a sad rut...it's gonna be sad.





	Winter Has Come

_"Sir, perhaps it's time to go back..."_

"N-no....they....they d-don't w-want me. I'm b-b-bu-burden..."

_"I then suggest at least going somewhere warm. Your core temperature is alarmingly low."_ FRIDAY spoke out. 

Ten year old Tony shivered and didn't respond. He was upset and stubborn. His mother always said that made him a lot like Howard. Everything had just gone horribly wrong. 

He'd woken up in a strange place, with strange people, with circumstance he was sure he dreamed up. But it was happening. He was zapped with _magic_ and regressed back to being ten years old. The modern world was amazing but terrifying. 

It also pissed him off greatly.  

When he was little...or well, this age, he told himself his life was going to be different. That he was going to leave the sad and miserable life he had with Howard. He would live in a big home that was happy and had a ton of cool stuff. With staff that respected him and liked him, not tolerated. Jarvis would come with him of course! 

He'd make friends...

Maybe get a dog. His dad never let him have a dog. 

He'd have a family when he was grown up. One that he was nice to and they were nice to him. They would love him. They'd love him for reals, not because he was rich and a Stark. 

He'd be loved just for being Tony. 

But that wasn't his life. His life was cold, and miserable, and full of pain and desolation. 

He was just like his father. 

The people he was found with tried being friendly, but as the days went on they got tired. Some tried to hide it but Tony knew it when he saw it. He had many nannies and staff that never liked him but never said anything because they'd feared getting fired, so he could always tell when others didn't. The only ones who seemed to have the patience for him was Rhodey, Natasha, and Bucky. 

Natasha and Rhodey had too many adult responsibilities that took them away though. So Bucky became his best friend. Or his reluctant good friend with the awesome metal arm he liked to tinker with. 

Days turned to weeks and weeks turned into a month. 

Bucky's reluctance dwindled down until he began to actively bond with Tony in return. 

It was all going well...until an alien monster attacked. 

Tony had no idea what it was or where it came from. But it broke his arm...and a lot of the tower. The Avengers were mad, tense, and then became distant. Tony only saw them on occasion, all with more or less the same excuse. Work. 

But then they wanted him to go somewhere else. Some SHIELD facility with none of them going with him. He argued and even begged. He pleaded with all of them to not let it happen. No one tried to stop it. No one stood up for him. 

In the middle of his transport, he escaped. He's been on the run ever since. 

\-----------  


"Loki, stop this! Stark is a child now!"

"Wasn't he always?"

"Yes, well...back then he was in an adult body with the knowledge and power to survive. He's been missing for a while now and you have to change him back."

"Oh lighten up, brother. It was only a prank."

"It wasn't funny."

"I beg to differ. I bet you all had a laugh at the shrunken Midguardian."

"Okay well...yeah. But it stopped being funny when he disappeared. He was distraught when he ran. So end this."

Loki sighed but relented. "You're no fun, you know that?" 

Thor ignored him and gave him a stare to tell him to undo his magic. He's been in search of Loki for a week to get him to undo the spell after they couldn't find Tony after 24 hours. The Avengers were on the edge of their seats and getting more impatient as each day became another one. 

"Well?" Thor asked impatiently. 

Loki frowned when his magic faded. A gut wrenching feeling began to bloom in Thor's stomach as panic and dread could be spotted in Loki's eyes. 

"What's happened?" Thor demanded.

"There's...I...I can't undo the spell..." he mumbled quietly.

"What? Why not?" 

"There's a few reasons why magic won't work...you won't like those reasons." Loki said solemnly. His eyes became emotional as he begged Thor to understand. "I swear it wasn't my intention. I...it was a _prank_!"

Dawning realization reached Thor's mind but he still couldn't fully believe it. "Loki...what did you do?"  
  
\------------  
  
"F-F-F-FRIDAY...Pa-pa-pa-atch me-e-e in?"

_"Of course."_

_"No sign of him yet."_   
_'Nothing on my end."_   
_"He's a kid. Where the hell could he have gone?"_   
_"He's a Stark. He's resourceful and clever and stubborn-"_

"G-guys..."  
  
" ** _TONY_**!?" Came a myriad of yells. 

_"Tony where are you?_ ' Steve asked.

"I...I don't know...." Tony answered in a quiet voice He was lost in some park or preserve. It was cold, snowing, he couldn't feel his fingers anymore.

_"FRIDAY can you get us a GPS location?'_ Natasha asked. 

_"Right away."_

_"Okay...hang on Tone-Tone, we're coming."_ Rhodey promised. 

_"I think I'm closest. I'll get to him first."_ Bucky informed them. 

_"Get him warm. I'll walk you through the proper procedures. God knows how long he's been outside for."_ Bruce said. 

_"That's an easy fix."_ Came Clint's voice _. "Kid, how long you been outside for?"_ There was no reply. " _Kid?"_

_"Tony?"_

_"Tony!"  
_

_"TONY!"_

_\-----_

Bucky doesn't remember running this fast in a long time. No mission had ever called for this level of panic that fueled his adrenaline. Last time he ever ran this hard was probably for Steve back in their army days. 

But he ran and ran and ran until he reached the location FRIDAY had sent him. 

"TONY!" He yelled out, trying to spot him among the snow and forest. His keen training helped him spot Tony eventually, but as fast as he ran to get there...he slowed down to reach him. 

From a distance he knew. It was too quiet, it was too still. 

"T-Tony...?" Bucky's voice broke a bit, and echoed into the quiet forest. 

No response.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Please excuse the mistakes. I wrote this before going to sleep. It's a bit rushed and I really don't know what I was thinking.


End file.
